Dead alternator - total mayhem (t27 2011 d4d 2.0 diesel)

[samski]

Hi guys, I strongly believe that my alternator packed in today, together with completely exhausting Battery so I could drive car back home. 

Symptoms were like this:

Strange plastic smell - was gone after few minutes. No smoke under bonnet or fuses, no hot cables around fuses area. 

Weird noise when revving engine up between 900-1500, was normal afterwards. 

Red steering wheel with exclamation mark came up about 30 min before I turned off the car at home. 

Check vsc system came up when idle. 

Car won't start now at all - I assume its because Battery is completely dead. 

Check vsc system flashes and alternates with parking brake inoperable error message on dashboard. 

Am I totally screwed up or is it just alternator replacement and Battery recharge? 

 

I know it's one of 'crystal balls' questions, but any hint would be much appreciated. 

 

Thank you for every response. 

Will try and charge the battery tomorrow and try to start the car. 

If you've got any more questions that i could answer to try and help identify the fault - ask away. I'm totally knackered - just came back from holidays, totalling 3500 miles! 

Thank you 

[Notoyboy]

Won't have done the Battery any good running it down, so the sooner it's on charge the better.  Once charged, see if the engine will now start. Assuming it does, measure the volts across the Battery with engine running - a good alternator should give about 14.4 volts (assuming the drive belt is intact & OK).

[samski]

7 hours ago, Notoyboy said:

Won't have done the battery any good running it down, so the sooner it's on charge the better.  Once charged, see if the engine will now start. Assuming it does, measure the volts across the battery with engine running - a good alternator should give about 14.4 volts (assuming the drive belt is intact & OK).

Thank you, this is what I'm going to do today. Charger will arrive this morning so will see how long will it take to charge it. Maybe it will be charged today evening of not tomorrow morning. Im mainly worried about all vsc system and EPB and I hope these systems alerted due to no power. 

[Taxi501]

Alternator fault most likely, they’ve failed on every avensis I’ve had.

not an easy job to remove the alternator yourself as the driver side drive shaft has to be removed to be able to get it out, when my 2012 one failed it wasn’t just as simple as brushes but a control unit which needed to be soldered into place. Supposedly better to repair the original than replace with a cheap copy

[samski]

Hi, guys, so I charged the Battery and started the car. Charing reading started at just over 13v and was slowly coming down to almost 11v, especially after turning a/c, lights etc etc. So yes, alternator doesn't charge. Good thing is that all the systems that were showing errors are working as should. 

 

I've got new alternator on order. Should I replace it or just replace the brushes in my current alternator? 

 

Thank you 

[Taxi501]

If you’ve got a local auto electric repair center I’d get your original alternator repaired as the spurious ones seemingly have poor reviews. All down to price at the end of the day

[xzirri]

Your local breaker may have an original alternator in good condition for less than it would cost to buy a no-name new one, or getting yours fixed.

[samski]

Hi guys, so I got new denso alternator, from Amazon for £170. I probably could get it for less from eBay but I value amazon's customer service. My mechanic fitted it on my driveway for £50. I still got old alternator so I'm going to refurb it and either sell or keep. 

Car works and acts as should with no errors etc etc. 

Thank you all for messages in this thread. 

 

Have a good night.